


You've Got IT

by Chicken_Broccoli_2013



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:01:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 6,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26600314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chicken_Broccoli_2013/pseuds/Chicken_Broccoli_2013
Summary: If IT 1990 and IT 2017 had a baby, this would be it. Join your favorite Losers and a couple new faces as they kick some clown ass once and for all.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon/Original Character(s), Richie Tozier/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

Rayne scrubbed the dirt off her hands. Maybe she should feel bad for dumping that kid on his face in the mud, but if the teachers weren't going to stand up for her little sister then she was; Abby was only 9, and those boys were in 6th grade, she thought. She glanced back at Abby, still lying on the ground from where he'd pushed her. "Don't worry. He won't be bothering you any time soon."  
"Thanks, Raynie," Abby took her hand and she pulled her up into a hug.  
"Now get inside or you'll be late for school." Rayne gave her sister a pat on the back as she dashed away. She glanced at her watch, eyes widening. It was almost time for Bill to come over, and then she'd have to hurry to school herself.  
"Heigh-o silver!" Rayne looked up as the bike came to a stop on her front lawn.  
"Hi, Bill." The blonde boy hopped off his bike and gave her a quick hug.  
"Hey. Sorry, I haven't been p-practicing much. It's bb-been hard since Ge-Ge-G-"  
"Georgie," Rayne finished. "I know. It's OK." It had only been two weeks since Bill's little brother had been found with his arm ripped off, bleeding out. No one in town knew who or what had done it. She put an arm around her friend. "Why don't we go inside? Mom made breakfast."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids meet at school.

"Come on, tell me."   
"You'll laugh…"   
"Me? Laugh at you?" Richie gave his best puppy dog eyes. "Never."   
Afton chewed on the end of her pencil, pale cheeks turning pink. "Moths, OK? I'm afraid of moths."   
Richie shrugged. "That's not so bad. I thought you were gonna say ducklings or something. Moths are just ugly butterflies, ya know."   
"Uh huh." Afton rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a smile. She and her classmate were hunkered down by their lockers, waiting for the last bell to ring. She'd known who Richie was since grade school, but they'd only recently been introduced by Afton's best friend.   
"You two like those lockers so well, you're gonna sit there all day?" They both turned at the new voice.   
"Hey, Bev!" Afton wrapped her in a hug. Richie tugged playfully on Bev's ponytail.   
"Doth mine eyes deceive me? Miss Beverly Marsh speaking to lowlifes like us?"   
She kissed his cheek. "My two favorite losers."   
The bell rang, jarring them from their meeting. Afton rushed after her friends into their classroom, glancing at the black boy who stood up front. The teacher gave him a nod. "Go ahead, Mike."   
He cleared his throat. "H-hi. I'm Mike Hanlon. I just moved to Derry…."   
"Ni****," Henry Bowers whispered from the back. Afton turned to glare at him.   
"...and the strange thing is, how high the disappearance rates are here. Especially for kids. Not to mention all the disasters. Like the explosion on Easter of 1916--"   
"Thank you for that...morbid history lesson, Mike," the teacher interrupted. "Now, go sit between Ben and Rayne over there." Mike shuffled to his seat, ducking his head as he passed Henry. Rayne gave him a smile and offered her hand. "Nice to see a new face around here. I'm Rayne. That one up at the front is my friend, Bill." Mike couldn't help but smile back. "You got a lot of friends?"   
"Not really. It's just me, Bill, and Bill's best friend Eddie. Eddie's in another class."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Afton angers the wrong person...

"Shut up, Henry," Afton whispered. He raised an eyebrow.   
"Who's gonna make me, little girl? You?"   
"My friends and I could take you."   
"Four-eyes and the janitor's kid? I'd like to see you try." She sighed, turning away. He was right. Richie had no muscle and she was underweight for her age. They'd need, like, six more people to stand a fighting chance…  
The bell rang, jolting her out of her thoughts. Afton stood quickly, not wanting to see what Henry might do. She met Richie at the door and waved to Bev at her locker.   
"'Scuse us." She turned to see Rayne Carter, Bill Denbrough and Mike just behind her. She caught a snippet of their conversation as they passed: something about blood and a photo album.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne introduces Mike to life in Derry.

Rayne let Bill walk ahead a few paces, moving side by side with Mike. "Bill and I have been friends since kindergarten."  
"Has he always stuttered so bad?"  
She shrugged. "It's only gotten worse since his little brother was murdered."  
"What?" Mike's eyes widened. "That's not normal, Rayne. You have to know that. The number of people that disappear here--"  
"I know." Rayne couldn't help but think of her sister.  
"Wh-what are you g-g-guys talking about?" Bill padded up with a small blonde boy. Rayne forced a smile. "Just the photo album. What was that all about?"  
"Don't know, b-b-but it s-scared me good."  
"What scared you good?" The small boy interjected. "I swear, you never tell me anything, Bill…" He turned to Mike. "I'm Eddie, by the way. Eddie Kasprak. You must be one of Rayne's friends. She's good at making them." Mike gave him a nod. "Not to distract from Bill's album, but I have a question. That boy who called me a bad name in class--who is he?" "Henry Bowers," Rayne spat. "He and his gang love terrorizing nerds, misfits, and anyone else they deem unworthy. They almost got Ben Hanscom the other day." Mike shuddered. "Wonder who he's after today…" 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry practices his carving skills.

"See ya, Rich." Afton waved as her friend biked away. Bev gave her a hug.   
"See you at five?"   
"See you at five." Afton watched as she walked off to her dad's corner flat. Afton hated walking home alone, but it was only a few blocks. She started walking, shading her eyes from the sun. There was Bill's house...and there was the storm drain where Georgie had been found dead. She shivered. Who or what could've ripped his arm off like that?   
"Boo!" Afton stumbled as one of Henry's cronies--known commonly as Belch--grabbed her arm from behind. The third of the gang, Victor, was quick to grab the other. Henry sauntered up after them, smirking. "Look at you, all alone and nowhere to go." She struggled in his friends' grasps.   
"I've never had a problem with you, Henry. I don't wanna start now…"   
"You started the moment you opened your pretty little mouth," he snarled, drawing a switchblade from his pocket.   
Afton gulped. "H-Henry, wait a minute…"   
Victor chuckled. "Now she's stuttering like that freak Bill."   
Henry leaned back with a grin. "Tell you what, Ass-ton. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let your little backtalk in class slide...if you give me a kiss." His friends guffawed. Afton spit at his feet.   
"Do whatever you want, Bowers. You're not getting anything from me or the new kid!"   
His smile vanished. "Whatever I want, huh? How about I carve my name into your chest so you never forget who you're talking to again?" He slashed her shirt so her collarbones were showing. Belch froze.   
"Henry, don't actually…"   
"Cut her?" Henry waved the knife in his face. "Little bitch needs to learn her place. You don't like it, you can be next. Now hold her still."   
"No!" Afton kicked him back, but he only got closer. "Dont--Henry, please--" She cut off in a scream as he started carving an H into her right shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne and her gang help a friend in need.

*******   
"What was that?" Mike paused, looking around. Rayne stopped beside him.   
"What was what?"   
He stared at his new friends. "Did none of you hear that scream just now?"   
Another cry interrupted any answer and Rayne's head swiveled towards it. "D-d-d did that s-ss-sound like Ah- a-"  
"Yeah, I think that's Afton Roberts."  
Eddie shrank away at the girl's tone, "Ray? Nothing ever good happens when you look like that…" Rayne shrugged and started towards the sound quickly.   
Henry had just finished the 'H' on Afton's shoulder when he noticed the eyes of the other boys widened in worry. "Ready to hand that knife over, Bowers?"   
He whipped around and came nose to nose with Rayne's slate grey eyes. "You better leave her alone."   
"Or what?" He snapped, not noticing that Belch and Victor were already making a run for it. Mike stepped up beside Rayne.   
"I'm betting the four of us could put you in the hospital."   
"Five," Afton gasped, struggling over to stand with her rescuers. Henry's eyes darted from one determined face to the other. He curled his lip.   
"Fine. You win this time. But I'll be back for you, little girl. I'll flay you."   
Rayne took a threatening step forward. "Scat, Bowers." She turned to Afton as he slunk away. "You OK?"   
Afton scrubbed a tear from her eye. "Define OK…"   
Rayne pulled a handkerchief from her backpack and pressed it to Afton's shoulder, "Here, this should help until we can get some real supplies."  
"Thanks." Afton held the kerchief to her wound. "And thanks for helping me. Who are you guys? I know I have class with some of you." Eddie glanced at his friends.   
"We're just a bunch of losers."   
Bill smiled a bit. "We're k-k-kind of-f a club."   
"The Losers' Club?" Afton grinned. "I want in."   
"Well, why not make it official?" Mike asked with a small smile, "to The Losers Club?" He held a hand out.   
"Th-the- the L-losers Club." Bill affirmed, putting his hand on top of Mike's. Rayne added hers, followed by Eddie and Afton.   
"What's this, an occult ritual?" Afton turned to see Richie and his friend Stan heading down the hill toward them.   
"It's the Losers Club, silly. You want in?"   
Richie added his hand, squeezing hers. "Anything for you, Taffy."   
Stan raised his eyebrows. "I don't know...I don't even know you guys." Rayne laughed.   
"You will. Don't worry."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids engage in a classic Bonding Scene.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Bev asked, linking her arm through Afton's.   
"Of course. Any special reason, or is your dad just being awful again?"   
Beverly looked down, flushing. "I….I saw something last night…."   
"What? Like a spider or something?"   
"No...I heard voices in my sink. Then there was--"   
"B-bl-blood?" The girls turned to see Bill. Beverly stared.   
"How did you know?"   
"The ph-photo album. In Georgie's r-r-r-room. He winked at me, and then it bled."   
Richie came up, throwing his arm around Afton. "Sounds like you two are loony to me." He ignored Bev and Bill's glares as the rest of the club arrived. Stan folded his arms with a sigh.   
"What are we all doing by this tree again?"   
"The oldest tree in Derry," Mike corrected, earning an eye roll. Rayne strode up with an armful of wooden planks.   
"You ever had a treehouse, Stanley?"   
"No."   
"You want one?"   
He pursed his lips as Ben followed with even more planks. "We're building one, aren't we?"   
Mike held up a hammer and toolbox. "From my grandpa. Now, who's good at climbing?" Afton was quick to scale the tree, taking the boards Rayne handed her while Richie nailed them down. When they had a solid foundation, Bev joined them in the tree.   
"I will say this, Tozier: you are good at hitting things."   
He stuck his tongue out at her. "You wanna be hit?"  
"Y-you never hit a gi-girl," Bill called up.   
"Lighten up, Billy boy, I'm just kidding. Hey, where's Eddie spaghetti?"   
"I was just running an errand," the small boy said. "And don't you call me that!" He brandished two paint cans and a pack of brushes. "Figured if we're gonna build it, we might as well decorate it." Soon everyone but Stan was up in the tree, Bill and Mike spreading sky blue paint over the wood.   
Ben crouched down inside, showing Bev and Rayne a map of Derry that he'd brought from home.   
"Aren't you gonna come up, Stanley?" Afton leaned out the makeshift window, her long golden hair framing her face. For a moment Stan just glared up at everyone. Then he broke into a grin. "Hand me a brush, you heathens."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> January embers.

The light of the sun bled through the trees as it set over the old town. Beverly, Richie and Afton sat in one corner of the house while Rayne and Mike sat in another. "So...I got a poem." Beverly couldn't keep her lips from turning up.   
"What?" Afton gasped. "Spill!"   
Bev pulled a small postcard from her pocket. "Your hair is winter fire. January embers...my heart burns there too." The girls sighed wistfully.   
"Who's it from?"   
"It just says *secret admirer.*"   
"How do you know it's for you, Bevvy?" Richie snatched the postcard out of her hand. "It could be for me."   
Afton snickered, running her fingers through his unruly red hair. "Who'd wanna write a poem about you?"   
Rayne glanced at Mike. He was so close, his skin shining in the dying sun. She met his eyes with confidence as he looked up at her. "What are you thinking about?"   
"You." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If it weren't for you, I never would've met the Losers. If it weren't for you, Henry would've got me. I may just owe you my life." She took his hand with a small smile.   
"You're lucky you ran into me, Hanlon."   
"Yeah, I am." He leaned closer, so close she could see bits of gold sparkling in his eyes.   
"Holy crap, do you guys see that?" Afton leaped up, pointing outside. Rayne pulled back with a huff. What now? She stared out at the sky, watching as the moon began to rise. "See what?"   
"I see it," said Beverly. "That red balloon." Rayne finally saw it. "Oh...some kid must've lost it." She noticed goosebumps creeping up Afton's arms. "What's wrong?"   
"Nothing...let's go home."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Rayne walk home...but they're not alone.

Mike squeezed Rayne's hand as they walked past the butcher shop. She raised an eyebrow. "You scared of a little meat?"   
"No." Mike looked down. "Remember I told you how my parents died?"   
"Yeah…"  
"Well, sometimes I can still hear them screaming. I was delivering meat for my grandpa a few days ago, and…"   
"And you saw something," she breathed. "Like Bill's album and Bev's sink." He nodded. Rayne opened her mouth to say something else, but a new voice gave her pause.   
"Raynie…" She turned, looking for the source.   
"Abby?"   
Mike blinked. "Is something wrong?"   
"My-my sister…" Rayne dropped his hand and ran toward the sound of the voice. "Abs? Where are you?"   
"Down here," it called. The storm drain...Rayne crouched down, staring into the pitch black opening, not caring about the logic of it.   
"Abby, what are you doing down there?"   
"Those boys...they chased me into the sewers. I've been lost for hours...Ray, help me!" A small hand reached from the drain. Rayner made to take it, only to be grabbed from behind and pulled away.   
"Don't," Mike gasped. "Don't you see? This doesn't make any sense. Someone's playing a trick."   
Rayne shook him off. "But what if it really is her? What if it is?" She froze as an entirely different sound echoed from the drain--a deep, throaty laugh. It sent chills crawling up her spine. "Mike--"   
"I hear it." He took her hand once more. "Let's get out of here."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Rayne walk home...but they're not alone.

Mike squeezed Rayne's hand as they walked past the butcher shop. She raised an eyebrow. "You scared of a little meat?"  
"No." Mike looked down. "Remember I told you how my parents died?"  
"Yeah…"  
"Well, sometimes I can still hear them screaming. I was delivering meat for my grandpa a few days ago, and…"  
"And you saw something," she breathed. "Like Bill's album and Bev's sink." He nodded. Rayne opened her mouth to say something else, but a new voice gave her pause.  
"Raynie…" She turned, looking for the source.  
"Abby?"  
Mike blinked. "Is something wrong?"  
"My-my sister…" Rayne dropped his hand and ran toward the sound of the voice. "Abs? Where are you?"  
"Down here," it called. The storm drain...Rayne crouched down, staring into the pitch black opening, not caring about the logic of it.  
"Abby, what are you doing down there?"  
"Those boys...they chased me into the sewers. I've been lost for hours...Ray, help me!" A small hand reached from the drain. Rayner made to take it, only to be grabbed from behind and pulled away.  
"Don't," Mike gasped. "Don't you see? This doesn't make any sense. Someone's playing a trick."  
Rayne shook him off. "But what if it really is her? What if it is?" She froze as an entirely different sound echoed from the drain--a deep, throaty laugh. It sent chills crawling up her spine. "Mike--"  
"I hear it." He took her hand once more. "Let's get out of here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Were? Wolf.

Afton found it hard to believe her friends' stories. Rayne's sister in a storm drain? Mike's parents at the butcher shop? And the latest--a haunted painting at Stan's synagogue. Why were her friends all seeing such strange things? "Earth to Taffy." She gasped as Richie's fingers spidered up her sides. "What are you, some kind of philosopher?"   
She rolled her eyes, squirming away from him. "I was just thinking--"  
"I know you were."   
"--Just thinking how strange it is that so many of our friends have seen scary things recently." He shrugged.   
"Maybe it's all just one man who can turn into different things."   
Afton slapped him playfully. "Yeah, right."   
"What?" He grabbed her hand, struggling for a minute before pinning her down. "I could be a genius in the making."   
"More like a genus."   
"I don't even know what that is."   
She giggled. "It's you, you dork."   
Suddenly his eyes darted over her head. "Taffy…"   
"What?" She leaned back to see. "Is it your monster?"   
"No, I'm serious…" He released her and stood, staring out into the trees behind them. "I saw something out there."   
Afton got to her feet. "What, that man?"   
"Yes! Yes...you can see him too?"   
"Looks awfully hairy for a man."   
"Yeah, looks more like a--" His jaw clenched. "Like a werewolf."   
"What? Rich, you're crazy."   
"No, I--holy crap, it's--it's seen us--holy sh--Taffy, run!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. There was indeed something chasing them, but it still looked like a man in a costume to her. By the time they reached town, both were red faced and hoarse. "We--we gotta find help. We gotta get someone--"   
"Rich...it's gone." Afton pointed. He whipped around, eyes wide. "Are you sure you weren't just seeing things?"   
"No! You said you saw it too. Didn't you?"   
She looked away. "I'm not sure…"   
Richie sighed in defeat. "C'mon, Taff. I'll walk you home."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relaxing shower? I think not.

Afton lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had gotten into Richie today? The same thing that had gotten into all of her friends? Much as she didn't want to admit it, something strange was going on…   
"Afton, I'm going to bed."   
"Goodnight, Damon," she called to her older brother. She listened as his footsteps faded downstairs. Maybe a shower would help get things off her mind…  
She turned on the water and stepped behind the curtain, relishing in the heat as the water poured over her. She hummed softly to herself, closing her eyes as she shampooed her hair. The faintest sound breached her ears. It took a minute to figure out what it was: the sound of a balloon being blown up. Afton opened her eyes to an enormous red balloon floating right in front of her face. "I 💗 Derry" was written on it in bold block letters. She poked it experimentally. It bobbed merrily, unaffected by the water. There was something fluttering inside...she pulled it closer, trying to see through the thin red rubber. All at once it burst, and out came moths. Hundreds and hundreds of them, dust sprinkling like snow from their pale brown wings. Afton opened her mouth to scream and choked as a particularly large moth flew in. They landed on the walls, on the curtain, on her skin. So many they were crawling over each other. For every one she brushed off, three took its place. She could feel their tiny legs all over her, their miniscule tongues tasting her eyes and ears. She leaped for the door, tearing down the curtain in the process--but it was locked. Afton grabbed a towel and crouched in the corner, shielding herself as best she could. The water was still running. Then the drain began to unscrew itself. Afton watched with bulging eyes as first one hand, then another creeped up from the hole. Off key circus music floated up to her ears, followed by a man's giddy laugh. "Don't be scared, Taffy. I just wanted to say hello!" The hands pushed away from each other, widening the hole till it was big enough for a person to fit through. As Afton searched for a shield, a weapon, anything--a clown climbed out of the abyss. He had bright red hair, brighter blue eyes, and a 1,000 watt grin. Afton breathed out a sob. She'd never been scared of clowns--in any other setting he would've looked funny to her. But something about the look in his eyes and the drool on his lips made her stomach twist into a scout-worthy knot.  
"Like my little friends, Taffy? They sure like you!"   
"Wh-who are you?"   
"Who am I?" The clown feigned offense. "I am Pennywise the Dancing Clown. And you are Laffy Taffy, my sweet little--"   
"I'm not your anything!" Afton grabbed the nearest thing--a bottle of Nair--and threw it at him. It hit its mark, coating the monster in pinkish lotion. He laughed.   
"Oh, a fighter, hmmm? Just like your friends. Don't worry, Taffy. Soon you'll all float…"   
"No…" She sobbed, kicking at him as he reached for her. "Help! Damon, help!" She snatched up a pair of tweezers and stabbed the clown's clawed hand. He howled. "Help! Someone, please!"   
He ripped the tweezers from his hand with a snarl, blood spraying from the wound.   
"You can't win, little girl. I am the eater of worlds. I am--" The door burst open to reveal Damon.   
He stared at Afton. "What the hell is going on here?"   
She frowned. "Wh--the clown! The moths! Can't you see?"   
"Clown? Afton, are you okay?" He gingerly picked up the torn down curtain. "Ugh. Sometimes I don't know what to do with you. Go to bed, little sis." She didn't sleep a wink.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie faces his demons.

******************************   
"Let's not go this way," Eddie said as he walked with his friends.   
"Why not?" Rayne asked. "It's the fastest way to the treehouse."   
"Plus we can avoid B-b-b--"   
"Bowers," Rayne finished. Eddie looked from her to Bill and back again.   
"Um, do you guys not know about Neibolt house? It's full of crack heads and the homeless, and in case you didn't notice we're kind of in a pandemic right now…"   
Rayne put an arm around him. "Look, I think we're all on edge after Afton's story last week. But we're not alone. I think we'll be fine."   
Eddie rolled his eyes, took a puff from his inhaler, and pushed forward. Rayne and Bill hung back as they approached the ramshackle old house. Eddie eyed it as he neared the front gate, feeling suddenly nauseous. He opened his fanny pack, looking for Dramamine. Where was it? "Looking for this, Eddie?" He turned to see what could only be described as a walking infection, with doll-like white eyes and a hole where his nose should be.   
"Holy--guys! Guys!" Eddie scrambled back, lost his footing and crawled before getting up again. His friends were nowhere is sight.   
"Eds? Eddie!" Bill called.   
"There!" Rayne dashed after the small boy as he sprinted onto the Neibolt house property. Eddie fumbled with his inhaler, dropped it, and didn't look back. He could still hear the thick, wheezing breaths of the thing behind him.   
"Eddie...come here, Eddie!" The voice changed, mimicking his mother before boiling down into something ugly, dark...inhuman. He stumbled into the property's fence. He was trapped. Eddie turned but saw no disease-riddled body. Instead he saw a clown--just like in Afton's story. It held a plethora of red balloons and wore a child-like smile. "If you lived here, you'd be home by now, Eddie."   
"H-holy shit…" It laughed as merrily as any normal circus clown.   
"Come float with us, Eds. We all float--yes we do. And soon you and your friends will float too--"   
"Eddie!" Rayne burst through the weeds, tailed by Bill. Eddie tried to say something but was wheezing too hard. Bill shoved the inhaler to his lips and he took a huge drag.   
"Di-did you guys see it?"   
"We s-s-saw some old m-man chasing you…"   
Eddie took another puff. "Call everyone."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pennywise pays the Losers a visit.

Nine people gathered in the treehouse that night. Bill stood at the front, two maps behind him. One was Ben's map of Derry and the other was Bill's father's: a diagram of the town's sewer system. "Y-y-you all know why we're h-here," Bill started. "We've all s-s-seen strange things o-o-over the past couple w-weeks."   
Bev put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "You too?"   
He nodded. "Thought you'd all think I was crazy if I said anything."   
Bill nudged him forward. "Go a-ahead, B-Ben. Tell them."   
He sucked in a breath, turning to the maps. "I have a theory. When each of us saw something, it was near a place close to the sewers. Neibolt house, Bill's house, the library…"   
"So?" Rayne linked her arm through Mike's. "What are you saying?"  
"He's saying it's all one thing," Afton breathed. "Just like you said, Rich."   
He flushed. "I was just joking around."   
"So it's all just one man? But we all saw different things."   
Eddie took a puff. "No. Afton and I both saw a clown."   
"I did too," Ben confirmed. "At first it was my dad, all charred and headless from the war. Then it was--"   
"Pennywise," Afton whispered. A hush fell over the room.   
"No way!" Stan shook his head as if to clear it. "This can't be happening. One man doing all this?"   
"He's probably behind all the disappearances too," Eddie muttered. Afton grabbed Bev's hand. "And I don't think he's a man…"   
"Can we Google it?" Mike asked. "Search the name, see what comes up?"   
Rayne typed it into her phone. "That's weird...all that comes up is 'you die if you try.'"   
Stan's phone pinged and he pulled it out. "Uh, guys...mine says the same thing…"   
Afton stared at hers. "Mine just shows part of a face…"   
"Wait a minute…" Eddie grabbed his friends' phones, placing them all on the floor. He and Ben rearranged them until it made a face.   
"Holy shit," Richie breathed. The garish face grinned up at them, its teeth growing like icicles and its eyes flashing yellow.  
"Oh my God!"   
"Holy fuck--" The kids all scrambled back as the clown giggled.   
"You die if you try/ you die if you try/ you die if you try…"   
Bill snatched his phone from the pile. "I-it-it w-won't turn off!" Pennywise cackled.   
"YOU DIE IF YOU TRY/ YOU DIE IF YOU TRY/ YOU DIE IF YOU TRY…"   
Suddenly, the noise stopped. Breathing stopped. Everything stopped. Afton stood in the middle of the room, holding up her phone and a SIM card. Rayne recovered first. "Nice one, Afton."   
She was panting like she'd just run a marathon. "It...it was all I could think of." There was a pause.   
"I wanna go home," Stan murmured.   
"No!" Bill pulled him back. "N-now we-we know about IT. We kn-know I-I-IT lives in the s-sewers."   
Mike moved to stand by Stan. "You're saying you want to hunt IT."   
"Yes! I-IT k-killed my brother, dammit!"   
Bev sighed. "It's too risky, Bill. It could kill us all."   
"S-so you'd rather just l-let IT keep killing kids? What if it takes another G-Ge-Georgie? Or Ah-A--"   
"Abby," Rayne finished. "Or one of us?"   
Afton stood beside Bill, glaring at Richie and Beverly till they did the same. Rayne joined them.   
"But where does IT live? We can't just go wandering the whole sewer system. We'd get lost and die! Not to mention greywater--"   
"Sh-shut up about g-gr-greywater, Eddie."   
Eddie huffed. "I'm just saying."   
Ben raised a hand. "I-I think I know where IT lives. There's just one place every tunnel beneath Derry leads to: Neibolt house."   
"Well, that's just fucking great." Eddie glanced from one group to the other, finally getting up to stand with Bill's. "I'm going to regret this."   
"You won't have time to regret it," Stan snapped. "You'll be dead!"   
"Mike…" Rayne held her hand out to the boy, her eyes pleading. He gave Stan an apologetic look and joined her. Ben wasn't far behind. Everyone watched as Stanley stood alone on the other side of the treehouse. He groaned.   
"Why I became a Loser, I'll never know."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanna go to Neibolt?

Rayne gazed up at the imposing walls of Neibolt house, trying to tell herself she wasn't afraid. The sun broiled the earth outside, but standing in the shade of the house chilled her to the bone. Bill stood on the front stoop. "L-let's go."   
"Shouldn't someone stay outside and keep watch?" Stan asked. "You know, just in case something bad happens…"   
Bill rolled his eyes. "Wh-who w-wants to stay o-o-outside?" Everyone but Beverly raised a hand. Afton pulled a pouch of pencils out of her backpack.   
"Should we draw straws?"   
************   
Ben, Stan, and Mike were chosen to wait outside. "Rayne…" She squeezed Mike's hand.   
"I'll be careful. I promise." He took her face in his hands, gently pressing his lips to hers.   
"For good luck." Rayne threw her arms around him. Afton blushed, glancing at Richie, but he was too busy talking to Bill to notice the kiss. The six of them headed inside. The frigid air nearly sent Rayne stumbling back. It smelled like rotting flesh and circus peanuts. The splintering wood was so rotted through, it felt like Styrofoam beneath her feet.   
"Y-you two go that way," Bill ordered. "The r-rest of u-us will try up-upstairs." Rayne held Bev's hand as they tiptoed downstairs. There wasn't much to see: an ancient fireplace; some old furniture that was so dusty it looked fuzzy. They followed the hallway as it sloped down, down, down. At last it opened up into an enormous room, in the middle of which was a well. Rayne dropped a rock into it, waiting to hear it plop at the bottom. She waited almost two minutes.   
"I think we found where IT lives," Bev muttered.   
"Yeah." Rayne cursed herself for not bringing a weapon or a rope and took a step back, only to tense. "Uh…" she looked down and swallowed thickly, Bev reaching out to grab her arm.   
The stone and dirt of the floor had become a metal grate that showed a dark pit below it. "We need to get out of here, Rayne. If things - if this is happening then that means IT's here…"   
Rayne moved hesitantly at Bev's urging. "Gosh, I hate walking over these things…" she muttered, then shrieked as bloody hands appeared from the darkness to grab at the grate and the girls' ankles.   
Echoing wails rose from the Well, undercut with the manic laughter of Pennywise. Beverly yanked Rayne's arm and she finally came unfrozen, bolting for the stairs. A hand caught Rayne's foot and she fell hard, Bev smashed a rock onto the hand and Rayne scrambled to her feet.   
That's when they heard the first scream of their friends.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Afton take a break.

"Richie?" Afton pounded on the door that had just slammed shut.   
"Taffy!" He shoved against it from the other side.   
"Taffy...Taffy...Taffy…." The voice echoed, mutating from one of her friends' voices to another before finally becoming the clown's.   
"Just go, Taff. Go get help!"   
"I'm not leaving you!"   
"I'll go." Eddie ran toward the stairs, only for the wood to dissolve right in front of his feet. "Holy--Bill? Where's Bill?"   
Afton jumped as one by one, every door down the long hallway slammed closed. She and Eddie were trapped. They shared a look before Afton turned back to the door. "Rich, are you still there?" Nothing. "Richie?" She backed up to kick the door, only for it to burst open. Out fell Richie, his skin slug-grey and every orifice squirming with maggots. Afton stumbled back, knocking into Eddie--sending them both tumbling into the pit below. She heard a cry and a sickening crunch. "Eds!"   
Eddie was wailing, cradling his right arm. Afton swallowed bile--his forearm was snapped in half. "Oh my God…" She smoothed his hair back, trying not to cry herself. "W-we're gonna be fine, Eds…"   
"Fine?" He snapped. "Fine? My fucking arm is flopping around like a limp dick!"   
"Can't get it up, Eddie?" A voice chortled.  
************   
The clown relished the children's terrified faces. It twisted its head in a way humans would consider unnatural, breaking and resetting its bones as it slinked towards them. The boy scrambled back until his back hit the far wall, his cries of pain sending chills of pleasure up the clown's spine. The little girl was proving to be more difficult, though. She moved in front of the boy to shield him, her face determined despite the fear in her eyes. He couldn't hold back a giggle. He loved a challenge. "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the sewer spout…"   
Eddie and Afton shared a mute look. "What the f--"   
"Down came the rain and wwwwwashed the spider out…" Spiders of all shapes and sizes poured from the clown. Tarantulas out of his eyes and mouth, hobo spiders from his ears, wolf spiders from his sleeves, brown recluse from his trousers. The boy pointed each one out, his voice rising in pitch with each species he recognized.   
"Out came the clown and all the blood dried up…"   
"Oh god, oh god!"   
"And the itsy bitsy spider ate all the children up!"   
All the spiders vanished just as they reached the children. Pennywise cackled, dragging his mutilated legs closer and closer to them.   
"Y-you stay away, you get away from him," Afton shouted, trying to be heard over the nursery rhymes still echoing in her head.   
The clown threw its head back with a guffaw.   
"Sweet girl, so protective of your useless little friend. What if I don't want him? What if I want...you?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends reunite.

When they first ran up the stairs toward the screaming, the girls thought they would reach the ground floor. They were wrong--instead they'd encountered a spiral staircase going up into eternity. They'd found Bill and Richie--very traumatized but very much alive--trapped on the same staircase. After reuniting, they'd managed to find a half open door that somehow led back to the ground floor.   
"Altogether now," Rayne said, nodding to each of her friends. They'd followed the screaming to a locked door and had since been trying to open it. "One...two...three!" The four of them shoved hard against the door. Rayne let out a triumphant cry as it splintered. They fell over each other into the room, freezing at what they saw.   
Eddie was backed into a corner, holding one mangled arm, half sobbing half screaming. Afton, who'd apparently been trying to protect him, screeched as the clown's tongue pulled her leg toward its gaping maw.   
"Let her go!" Beverly cried. The clown froze--still as a statue. It turned its head all the way around like an owl, its blaring traffic light eyes staring at them. "Let Afton go," Bev said again, with much less certainty. The clown smirked and with one flick of its tongue, snapped her leg at the knee. Rayne didn't even know a word to describe the sound the came out of Afton's mouth. She stepped forward.   
"Look, you son of a gun...we outnumber you. We can take you."   
The clown feigned fear for a second before laughing hysterically. "You know, I usually have to pick up my food myself. I wasn't expecting deliv--" Pennywise choked as he was stabbed through the throat with a fence post. Behind him stood Mike, Ben, and Stan, all carrying more sharp pieces of wood. Mike made eye contact with Rayne.   
"You guys okay?"   
She smirked shakily. "Define OK."   
The clown snarled, blood pumping out around the fence post and up into the air. Afton and Eddie were still sobbing in the background. Rayne took her friends' hands, glaring at him. "Leave before we finish you, demon."   
With one last growl, the creature scuttled itself into the shadows.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang disbands.

Rayne and Mike held Afton up as she limped out of the house. Her leg, a mottled black, blue and purple, had been broken at the knee and the shin. Richie put an arm around Eddie, who was crying with a quiet determination. "Th-th-that...was not good."   
"No shit, Bill," Afton grunted.   
Rayne groaned. "Yeah. Of all the not-good things that have ever happened to me, this definitely takes the cake."   
"I gotta get home," Eddie whimpered. "My mom's gonna kill me…"   
Bill watched as half his friends got on their bikes. "N-next time, we-we'll b-b-be better pr-prepared--"   
"No!" Stan ejected. "No next time, Bill! Richie almost died, Eddie's arm's in half, and Afton's leg can barely be called a leg anymore!"   
"B-b-but now w-we know where IT lives...n-now--"   
"No. I'm out. It's summer, we're supposed to be having fun, not dinking around in crack houses. I don't care what you guys do, but I can't take this anymore." Stan rode away.   
Rayne shifted Afton's arm on her shoulder. "We'll walk you home." Bill was left standing as seven other kids dispersed through the town.


End file.
